Knoll nods to Moorish architecture in new LA store by Johnston Marklee
![Knoll LA store](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5sW3BVZi6eX4ifVVwn72ad-415-80.jpg)
When former Knoll International president Yves Vidal bought York Castle in Tangier, Morocco – a 16th-century Portuguese castle later possessed by the Moors and subsequent sultans – he decided its historic backdrop would be the perfect counterpoint for the company’s streamlined designs. In the early 1960s, he transformed the once-crumbling structure into a modernist idyll. The new Knoll Home Design Shop in Los Angeles draws inspiration from the iconic palace, similarly melding midcentury design with warmer, more tranquil environs.
After an 80-year-long history of fostering Bauhaus design, Knoll’s first Home Design Shop outside of New York sees the brand putting its stamp of approval on the city’s design scene. The Robertson Boulevard–located store, a few blocks from the Pacific Design Center, has been conceived by local architecture firm Johnston Marklee alongside Knoll’s Benjamin Pardo.
Knoll Home Design Shop, LA, designed by Johnston Marklee
The firm is known among the city’s creative class for gallery spaces such as Honor Fraser, Various Small Fires and Roberts & Tilton, as well as Maison Martin Margiela’s Beverly Hills outpost. With oversize windows, suggestions of archways and polished grey terrazzo with white marble aggregate, the shop’s corner building offers a contemporary riff on its palatial inspirations.
Inside, the space is united by the rich material palette of northern Italian architecture of the 1950s and 60s. Knoll has introduced a new palette for customizable designs at the shop, such as rose-gold metallic finishes, rosso rubino marbles and curly shearling upholstery. Also featured are celebrated Knoll designs now available in the US for the first time, such as Tobia Scarpa’s 1962 ‘Bastiano’ lounge collection and Piero Lissoni’s contemporary ‘Avio’ sofas and ‘Grasshopper’ tables. Other designs include midcentury staples by Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen as well as work by contemporary masters such as David Adjaye and Frank Gehry, offering up the historic brand’s past and present for its West Coast future.
The space is united by the rich material palette of Northern Italian architecture of the 1950s and 60s
Inside, celebrated Knoll designs, such as Tobia Scarpa’s 1962 ‘Bastiano’ lounge collection and Piero Lissoni’s contemporary ‘Avio’ sofas are on show
The store design has been conceived by local architecture firm Johnston Marklee alongside Knoll’s Benjamin Pardo
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Knoll website and the Johnston Marklee website
ADDRESS
Knoll Home Design Shop
314 North Robertson Boulevard
West Hollywood
CA 90048
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Studio Shamshiri and Abask unite on the softest interior décor collection
LA-based Studio Shamshiri joins forces with Abask on a new collaboration of interior objects including pillows, throws, and eyemasks
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The best American furniture design finds a dream home
Celebrating the best American furniture design, our dream house was created by set designer Stefan Beckman for August 2024 Wallpaper* – come on in
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
‘Midcentury modern is as American as punk rock’: 22RE on its latest full-scale project
The new LA offices of music branding agency Ceremony of Roses, designed by local studio 22RE, are a real conversation starter
By Carole Dixon Published
-
Globetrotting designer Mark Grattan shares his latest plans and next moves
Amid his meteoric rise, Mark Grattan speaks with Wallpaper* about his trailblazing career, 'getting the right type of help', and calculating his next move
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Ido Yoshimoto turns salvaged wood into sculptural pieces at his northern Californian workshop
Visiting Ido Yoshimoto at his California studio, we talk to the artist about his work with wood, from his beginning as an arborist to his sculptures and furniture made with local reclaimed material
By Shonquis Moreno Published
-
12 American icons of design, from cowboy boots to the MacBook Air
Our star-spangled round-up hails American icons of design and their latest iterations, from Pharrell Williams' cowboy boots to the Tiffany Lock, and a tiny yellow cab
By Jack Moss Published
-
Wallpaper* USA 400: meet the people shaping Creative America in 2024
The Wallpaper* USA 400 honours the people defining America's creative landscape in 2024, from legends to rising stars, activists to celebrity shapeshifters
By Wallpaper* Published
-
August 2024 Wallpaper*: Creative America is on sale today and free to download
Enjoy a free digital copy of August 2024 Wallpaper* – our celebration of the USA as a creative superpower – when you sign up to our daily digest of news
By Bill Prince Published